After graduating in Mechanical Engineering from the Munich University of Applied Sciences, and in Production Engineering and Business Administration from the Technical University Munich, Dr. Norbert Reithofer worked as a research assistant at the Technical University between 1984 and 1987, where he earned his doctorate at the Institute for Machine Tools and Business Administration.

Reithofer joined BMW AG in 1987 as Head of Maintenance Planning.After occupying a number of positions within the company, he served as Technical Director of BMW South Africa from 1994 to 1997.From 1997 to 2000, Reithofer was President of BMW Manufacturing Corporation in South Carolina, USA.He was appointed to the Board of Management of BMW AG in March 2000, where he was responsible for the Production division up until 2006.

Since September 2006, Reithofer has been Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG.